20 questions
1. What is your full name?
Jason Arthur Edwards. 2 . Where and when were you born?
I was born in St. John’s in 1971 and adopted at only a few months old by my parents, Neil and Lynn, in St. Lawrence. I grew up in St. Lawrence and that will always be home, even though I have not lived there in 34 years!
3 . Where do you live today? I live in St. John’s — but I am not a Townie.
4 . What’s your favourite place in the world?
Oh boy, that’s a hard one! There are, however, places that occupy a disproportionate amount of space in my mind: Gros Morne Park; Nunatsiavut, especially in winter; Chinatown and Kensington Market in Toronto; the highlands of Scotland haunt me; Edinburgh; Barcelona and pretty much anywhere in Spain. If I could live anywhere in the world, it would be Spain.
5 . Who do you follow on social media?
On Facebook, it’s all family and friends. On Twitter, I lean into the political pundits and writers and just about every legitimate news outlet. On Instagram, it’s pretty much all about photography and it’s not just pretty pictures and sunsets; I am drawn to the grittier side of things, conflict photography, street photography, reportage. Lately, I have been obsessed with the work of Jim Marshall, Elliot Erwitt and Robert Frank. There is also the climbing photography I daydream about: Jimmy Chin, Cory Richards and Renan Ozturk. I also follow a number of our immensely talented and well renowned local photographers, some of whom I am even lucky enough to call friends.
6 . What would people be surprised to learn about you?
That before I became a lawyer I wanted to be a chef. I have been cooking since I was eight or nine. In 1993, I also started foraging for mushrooms and other wild edibles before (foraging) had gone mainstream. Those were the days before the culinary arts had gained the profile they have now. In my last year of my undergrad, I had been accepted to culinary school. My parents were not impressed, so I withdrew my application. I did, however, work in a number of kitchens and was heading once again in that direction when I decided to write the LSAT and that was pretty much all she wrote for that dream. 7 . What’s been your favourite year and why?
The years that my children were born will always be my favourite years, as is the year I married my wife, Amanda.
8 . What is the hardest thing you’ve ever done? Saying goodbye to my father, who passed away in 2003, and my mother, who passed away in 2019. 9 . Can you describe one experience that changed your life?
I remember holding my firstborn shortly after her birth at the Health Sciences Centre. She was so tiny and seemed to fit entirely into the palms of my hands. I had never been so moved by anything up to that point in my life. I have since been lucky to have repeated the experience four more times — most recently just last month — and the feelings are just as intense each time.
10 . What’s your greatest indulgence?
Do I have to pick just one? Cameras, Irish whisky and depressing subtitled crime dramas, preferably set in some God-forsaken rainy Scandinavian town. 11 . What is your favourite movie or book?
That’s an easy one. While I love reading and am a hardcore lover of movies — the movie that I actually watch over and over and over again is “Valley Uprising,” the story of the growth of climbing in Yosemite Valley; I have actually lost count of how many times I have seen that documentary. 12 . How do you like to relax?
With a camera. I take pictures every day! No other hobby has taken the hold that photography has taken. Lately, I have been shooting a fair bit of film and developing it in our laundry room — that is incredibly relaxing. It’s nice to disappear for an hour or two into the darkness with the chemicals and rolls of film, and then watching the images appear as you unspool the developed negatives is pretty satisfying. 13 . What are you watching on T.V. right now?
To be honest, I’m watching a whole lot of Elmo, “The Backyardigans” and Dora these days.
14 . What is your greatest fear? Heights.
15 . What’s your favourite meal to cook?
My first instinct would be to say making sushi, but actually I think it’s fish tacos. I enjoy mixing the masa and frying the tortillas and cooking the fish and pickling the vegetables. It’s a whole production.
16 . What is your most treasured possession? My chef’s knife.
17 . What’s one lesson you learned from your parents that has stuck with you?
Never say anything unless you can back it up. My father was an English teacher and whenever I said anything he would say, “What’s your source?” and I would have to get him my source. He made me research things constantly.
18 . What three people would join you for your dream dinner party?
Anthony Bourdain, Leonard Cohen and Conrad Anker. Now that’s a mix.
19 . What is your best quality and what is your worst quality?
It’s not for me to say what my best quality is, but I know what my worst is: impatience and a tendency to easily become bored. 20 . What are you listening to right now? Pokey Lefarge and The Dead South.